Method and system for alerting a person to a situation

ABSTRACT

A method of alerting a person to a situation is disclosed. An alert signal is received from a mobile communication device in signal communication with a wireless communication system and an alert system. In response to the alert signal, a database of an alert service is accessed for information relating to the subscriber of the mobile communication device and for information relating to a contact list associated with the subscriber. Information is obtained from the wireless communication system relating to the location of the subscriber, and a communication is made to a member of the subscriber&#39;s contact list providing information relating to the subscriber and the situation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/180,424 filed Jul. 13, 2005 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,046,140, the contentsof which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety, whichis a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/439,259 filedMay 14, 2003 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,071,821, the contents of which areincorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates generally to a method and system foralerting a person to a situation, and particularly to a method andsystem for alerting a member of a contact list to an emergencysituation.

With the advent of cellular communications, individuals have turned tothe cellular telephone system for assistance in the event of anemergency situation. A cellular subscriber can initiate an emergencycall to a variety of emergency personnel or to any number of personallyknown emergency contacts. In making the emergency cellular call, thesubscriber manually enters the appropriate telephone number into thecellular keypad, awaits a response, and then personally communicates thenature of the emergency to the answering party. If the target number isnon-responsive, the subscriber must personally repeat the process byinitiating another call. To place each call, the subscriber must know orhave saved in the cellular device the number to be called, and must becareful under the stress of the emergency situation not to enter anincorrect number. With each call placed, valuable time may be lost. Uponreaching a call recipient, the subscriber is often asked what theirlocation is, which may or may not be known to the caller, and if it isknown, the call recipient may not be close enough to the caller toprovide assistance. Accordingly, it would be beneficial to advance theart of alerting persons to an emergency situation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, a method of alerting a person to a situation isdisclosed. An alert signal is received from a mobile communicationdevice in signal communication with a wireless communication system andan alert system. In response to the alert signal, a database of an alertservice is accessed for information relating to the subscriber of themobile communication device and for information relating to a contactlist associated with the subscriber. Information is obtained from thewireless communication system relating to the location of thesubscriber, and a communication is made to a member of the subscriber'scontact list providing information relating to the subscriber and thesituation.

In another embodiment, an application server for alerting a person to asituation is disclosed. The application server includes applicationsoftware for: inputting information into a database of an alert servicerelating to a subscriber of a mobile communication device; receiving analert signal from a mobile communication device in signal communicationwith a wireless communication system and an alert system; accessing thedatabase for information relating to the subscriber of the mobilecommunication device and for information relating to a contact listassociated with the subscriber; obtaining information from the wirelesscommunication system relating to the location of the subscriber; andcommunicating to a member of the subscriber's contact list informationrelating to the subscriber and the situation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring to the exemplary drawings wherein like elements are numberedalike in the accompanying Figures:

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication system foremploying an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary alert system in accordance with anembodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary method of implementing an embodiment of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the invention provides a method and system for alertinga person to an emergency situation.

FIG. 1 is an exemplary embodiment of a Wireless Communication System(WCS) 100, such as a Wireless Telephone System (WTS) or a CellularTelephone System (CTS), having a network of cell sites 110 in signalcommunication, via data and voice channels (trunk lines) 120 (not allchannels shown) and control paths 130, with a Mobile TelecommunicationsSwitching Office (MTSO) 140 (also referred to as a Mobile SwitchingCenter, MSC). The cell sites 110 are in signal communication via RF(Radio Frequency) signal 150 with a mobile communication device (MCD)200 held by a user (subscriber of the MCD) 170. MCD 200 may also beoperable within an automobile 180, or any other vehicle. MCD 200 may bea hand-operated panic button device, a self-activating emergencysignaling device, or an emergency button (or sequence of button strokes)on a cellphone, for example. In an embodiment where MCD 200 is a panicbutton device, the device may be operated from a keychain, a necklace, awristband, or any other suitable utility. In an embodiment where MCD 200is a self-activating emergency signaling device, the device may beintegral with vehicle 180 and may be triggered upon the occurrence of anaccident, a sudden impact, the deployment of an airbag, or any otheremergency situation involving the vehicle, for example. In an embodimentwhere MCD 200 is a cellphone, a speed-dial number may be used toactivate the alert signal, or alternatively, the placing of an emergency911 call may activate the alert signal in addition to the placing of acall to 911 emergency personnel. Each cell site 110 contains a tower, anantenna, a radio transceiver and a base station controller (collectively110) that manages, sends, and receives traffic to and from a MCD 200 inits geographical area defined by grid 190 from and to a cellulartelephone switch (not shown) and distant MSC 140. MSC 140 may placecalls from MCD 200 to land based telephones 160, may switch callsbetween cells as MCD 200 travels across cell boundaries 190, and mayauthenticate the Mobile Identification Number (MIN) of MCD 200. MSC 140is in signal communication with a Local Office (LO) 104, which may be insignal communication with many MSCs 140 and many telephones 160, whichmay be land based or cellular. LO 104 includes a processing center 102for processing incoming and outgoing calls and for communicating with analert service 305 via the Internet 250, best seen by referring to FIG.2.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, an alert system 300, and a method 400for interfacing with alert system 300 and for alerting a person to anemergency situation is depicted. At the outset, subscriber 170establishes a personal profile and emergency contact lists by accessing405 alert service 305 via the Internet 250 and a web browser equippedcomputer 310 to input subscriber information into a database 315. Thesubscriber information (personal profile) may include, for example, thesubscriber's name, home telephone number, work telephone number,cellphone number, home address, and information relating to two lists ofcontacts. In an embodiment, the first contact list includes thoseindividuals who should be contacted in an emergency situation when analert signal is received from subscriber 170, and the second contactlist includes those individuals who should be contacted in an emergencysituation if they are also in the vicinity of subscriber 170 when thealert signal is received at alert service 305. Members of the firstcontact list are referred to as emergency contacts and are depicted, forexample, as 161 in FIG. 2, and members of the second contact list arereferred to as friends and family contacts and are depicted, forexample, as 162 in FIG. 2. Information input into database 315 relatingto the two lists of contacts includes, for example, the contact's name,home telephone number, work telephone number, cellphone number, pagernumber/address, and email address. Once a personal profile has beeninput into database 315, subscriber 170 may at a later date access alertsystem 300 via the Internet 250 to update the contents of the storedpersonal profile. By establishing a personal profile, including contactlists, alert system 300 can automatically, upon activation, send anemergency message to a member of the contact lists without furtherinvolvement by subscriber 170, as will be discussed in more detailbelow.

Activation of alert service 305 occurs in response to subscriber 170sending 410 an alert signal via MCD 200 to CTS 100. As discussed above,subscriber 170 may send the emergency alert signal via a panic button, aself-activated signaling device (air bag activation sensor in a vehiclefor example), a cellphone, or any other suitable means for initiatingthe emergency signal. In an embodiment, the alert signal travels throughCTS 100 via RF signal 150, cell site 110, trunk lines 120, MTSO 140, andLO 104 to Internet 250, where it is received 415 at alert service 305via an application server 320. Once the emergency alert signal is sentand received at application server 320, alert system 300 becomes fullyautomated to deliver an appropriate emergency message to a member of thecontact lists.

In response to application server 320 receiving 415 the alert signal,application server 320 accesses 420 database 315 for informationrelating to subscriber 170 and for information relating to the first andsecond contact lists, discussed above, and polls 425 CTS 100 forinformation relating to the location of subscriber 170, which, asdiscussed below, is information passed on to a member of the contactlists. In an embodiment, MCD 200 may be equipped with Global PositioningSystem (GPS) technology, in which case MCD 200 may, in combination withGPS 335, provide the subscriber location information to applicationserver 320. In another embodiment, a location server 325 may be equippedwith server-aided GPS technology, in which case application server 320may poll location server 325 for the subscriber location information. Ina further embodiment, CTS 100 may be equipped with signal strength orsignal triangulation analysis technology, in which case CTS 100 mayprovide the subscriber location information to application server 320.In yet another embodiment, a third party position locating serviceutilizing other locating technology may be polled by location server 320for the subscriber location information.

Upon receipt of information relating to the location of subscriber 170,which in an embodiment includes the address of subscriber 170 at thetime the alert signal was sent, application server 320 commences anautomated process 430 that includes: reading the emergency contact listat database 315; contacting an individual 161 on the emergency contactlist; and, communicating to the contact person 161 information relatingto the subscriber and the situation. In an embodiment, this informationmay include the identity of the subscriber, a notice of the emergencysituation, the location of subscriber 170, and a text message, which mayall be included in a single message from a Short Message Service (SMS)340. The SMS message may be limited to a maximum number of characters,such as 256 characters for example, and may be created by SMS 340depending on the nature of the alert signal received at alert service305. For example: if the alert signal was received from a panic button200, the SMS message may include information that an emergency panicbutton signal has been received; if the alert signal was received from acellphone 200, the SMS message may include information that a emergencycellphone signal has been received; if the alert signal was receivedfrom a self-activating device responding to an vehicle impact condition,the SMS message may include information that a emergency vehicle impactsignal has been received; or, if the alert signal was received from aself-activating device responding to a vehicle airbag deployment, theSMS message may include information that an emergency airbag deploymentsignal has been received. Other SMS messages may be communicated asappropriate under the circumstances. If a member 161 of the emergencycontact list is unavailable, application server 320 automaticallyproceeds through the list until at least one member 161 is contacted orthe list is exhausted. Emergency contacts 161 may be accessed through aPublic Switching Telephone Network (PSTN) 330, CTS 100, or Internet 250via email, for example.

In addition to communicating with emergency contacts 161, applicationserver 320 commences an automated process 435 that includes: reading thefriends and family contact list at database 315 for a mobile phone(cellphone for example) number of a friends and family individual 162;locating the position of individual 162 by polling alert system 300, by,for example, polling a location server 325, polling a locating servicehaving access to location server 325, polling a GPS 335, or pollinglocating technology embedded within CTS 100; determining whether theindividual 162 is in the vicinity of subscriber 170, by, for example,determining whether the individual 162 is within a predefined geographicradius to subscriber 170; contacting the individual 162 if they are inthe vicinity of subscriber 170; and, communicating to the contact person162 information relating to the subscriber and the situation. Asdiscussed above, this information may include the identity of thesubscriber, a notice of the emergency situation, the location ofsubscriber 170, and a text message, which may all be embedded in an SMSmessage. If a member 162 of the friends and family contact list isunavailable or not in the vicinity of subscriber 170, application server320 automatically proceeds through the list until at least one member162 is contacted or the list is exhausted. In an alternative embodiment,application server 320 polls the friends and family contact list morethan once, broadening on each pass the geographical area for determiningwhether an individual 162 is in the vicinity of subscriber 170 or not,until at least one member 162 is contacted or the list is repeatedlyexhausted a predefined number of times.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, alert system 300provides an automated way for subscriber 170 to alert an emergencycontact person, and a friends and family member who is in the vicinityof the subscriber, that the subscriber is in an emergency situation.Once the emergency signal is received at alert system 300, alert system300, via alert service 305 and application server 320, automaticallymanages the process of detecting the emergency signal, locating thesubscriber, querying the database for contact information, locating afriends and family member in the vicinity of the subscriber, generatinga SMS message, and delivering the SMS message to the appropriatepersons, thereby providing subscriber 170 with rapid emergency response.In an alternative embodiment, application server 320 may place arecorded message to a land-based phone 160, or may send the SMS messageto an email address.

Some embodiments of the invention have some of the following advantages:timely response to an emergency call; automated calling to multipleemergency contacts; automated locating and calling of a contact in thevicinity of the caller; no need for subscriber to remember emergencycontact numbers; alert signaling devices available in various forms;ability to access and update contact list via the Internet;communication of an informational text message depending on thesignaling device employed; self-activated triggering in the event of avehicle accident; and, subscriber location automatically communicated tothe call recipient at the time of alert signaling.

While the invention has been described with reference to exemplaryembodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted forelements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. Inaddition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situationor material to the teachings of the invention without departing from theessential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the inventionnot be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best modecontemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the inventionwill include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appendedclaims. Moreover, the use of the terms first, second, etc. do not denoteany order or importance, but rather the terms first, second, etc. areused to distinguish one element from another. Furthermore, the use ofthe terms a, an, etc. do not denote a limitation of quantity, but ratherdenote the presence of at least one of the referenced item.

1. A method for alerting a third party to an emergency event involving amobile subscriber comprising: inputting information into a database ofan alerting service relating to a subscriber of a mobile communicationdevice; receiving an alert signal from the mobile communication devicein signal communication with a wireless communication system and analert system; and accessing the database for information relating to thesubscriber of the mobile communication device and for informationrelating to a contact list associated with the subscriber, in responseto the alert signal, the contact list including a list of contacts whoare to be contacted upon the occurrence of the alert signal; wherein thecontact list includes a first contact list and a second contact list,the first contact list including first individuals to be contacted inresponse to the alert signal, the second contact list including secondindividuals to be contacted in response to the alert signal, whereinonly second contacts in the vicinity of the subscriber will be alerted.2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: obtaining information atleast partially from the wireless communication system relating to alocation of the subscriber; and communicating to a member of thesubscriber's contact list information relating to the subscriber and asituation.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein: the mobile communicationdevice includes a panic button, the alert signal being generated inresponse to activation of the panic button.
 4. The method of claim 1wherein: the mobile communication device self-activates the alert signalin response to a situation.
 5. The method of claim 4 wherein: thesituation includes at least one occurrence of an accident, a suddenimpact, deployment of an airbag, or an emergency situation.
 6. Themethod of claim 4 wherein: the mobile communication device is integratedin a vehicle.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein: the contact listassociated with the subscriber is provisioned by the subscriberaccessing an alert service through a web browser.
 8. The method of claim1 wherein: the list of contacts includes multiple contact methods for atleast one contact.
 9. The method of claim 8 wherein: the multiplecontact methods include at least two of a home phone number, mobilephone number, pager number and email address.
 10. The method of claim 1wherein: communicating to a member of the subscriber's contact listinformation relating to the subscriber and the situation includescommunications with multiple contacts contemporaneously.
 11. A computerprogram product for alerting a person to a situation, the computerprogram product comprising: a storage medium readable by a processingcircuit and storing instructions for execution by the processing circuitfor facilitating a method comprising: inputting information into adatabase of an alerting service relating to a subscriber of a mobilecommunication device; receiving an alert signal from the mobilecommunication device in signal communication with a wirelesscommunication system and an alert system; and accessing the database forinformation relating to the subscriber of the mobile communicationdevice and for information relating to a contact list associated withthe subscriber, in response to the alert signal, the contact listincluding a list of contacts who are to be contacted upon the occurrenceof the alert signal; wherein the contact list includes a first contactlist and a second contact list, the first contact list including firstindividuals to be contacted in response to the alert signal, the secondcontact list including second individuals to be contacted in response tothe alert signal, wherein only second contacts in the vicinity of thesubscriber will be alerted.
 12. The computer program product of claim11, further comprising: obtaining information at least partially fromthe wireless communication system relating to a location of thesubscriber; and communicating to a member of the subscriber's contactlist information relating to the subscriber and a situation.
 13. Thecomputer program product of claim 11 wherein: the mobile communicationdevice includes a panic button, the alert signal being generated inresponse to activation of the panic button.
 14. The computer programproduct of claim 11 wherein: the mobile communication deviceself-activates the alert signal in response to a situation.
 15. Thecomputer program product of claim 14 wherein: the situation includes atleast one occurrence of an accident, a sudden impact, deployment of anairbag, or an emergency situation.
 16. The computer program product ofclaim 11 wherein: the mobile communication device is integrated in avehicle.
 17. The computer program product of claim 11 wherein: thecontact list associated with the subscriber is provisioned by thesubscriber accessing an alert service through a web browser.
 18. Thecomputer program product of claim 11 wherein: the list of contactsincludes multiple contact methods for at least one contact.
 19. Thecomputer program product of claim 18 wherein: the multiple contactmethods include at least two of a home phone number, mobile phonenumber, pager number and email address.
 20. The computer program productof claim 11 wherein: communicating to a member of the subscriber'scontact list information relating to the subscriber and the situationincludes communications with multiple contacts contemporaneously.